{
    "term": "contrary",
    "partOfSpeech": "adjective",
    "academic": true,
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "different from something; against something",
            "sensetop": "contrary to something",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "**Contrary to popular belief**, many cats dislike milk."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The government has decided that the publication of the report would be ‘contrary to the public interest’."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Contrary to expectations and the weather forecast, we had a fine day for the experiment."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Contrary to popular belief, the economy is doing well."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Contrary to what the public was told, weapons were still being exported."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It seems contrary to common sense."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The new claim is directly contrary to what was originally stated."
                },
                {
                    "text": "These results run contrary to our expectations."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "verbs": ["be", "run", "seem"],
                "adverb": ["completely", "directly", "entirely"],
                "preposition": ["to"],
                "phrases": ["contrary to expectations", "contrary to popular belief"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "completely different in nature or direction",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "**contrary advice/opinions/arguments**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The contrary view is that prison provides an excellent education—in crime."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Despite all the contrary evidence, they still believed that the Earth was flat."
                },
                {
                    "text": "My own experience is completely contrary."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "opposite"
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈkɒntrəri/",
                "audio": "xc/contrary/xcontrary__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈkɑːntreri/",
                "audio": "xc/contrary/xcontrary__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French contrarie, from Latin contrarius, from contra ‘against’."
}